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1 4. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND CONCERNS The spectacular industrial and economical development over the past few decades has led to the replacement of the communities of nature by man-made communities. However, the principles that govern the life of natural communities have to be observed if these manmade communities are to flourish. Deforestation, overgrazing, indiscriminate mining, and tree-felling, faulty tillage practices etc. have led to severe soil erosion. Over irrigation and river-harvesting of agricultural lands has resulted into salinity of water, waterlogging and degradation. Over-use of tubewells has substantially lowered down the underground water table. Destruction of lush tree covers has occurred due to the need of more agricultural and residual lands to meet the challenges due to over-population. Industrial effluents, forest fire and unplanned growth have led to severe water and air pollution. Major current environmental issues include climate change, species extinction, pollution, environmental degradation, and resource depletion etc. Human living has now become unsustainable. However there is an understanding that the sustainability is the key to preventing or reducing the effect of environmental issues. This needs to practice the human use of natural resources to within sustainable limits. Therefore for humans to live sustainably, the Earth’s resources must be used at a rate at which they can be replenished. The biophysical environment that comprises the Earth’s biosphere is the symbiosis between the physical environment and the biological life. The biophysical environment can be divided into two categories: the natural environment and the man-madeenvironment. The industrial revolutionhas mad the man-made environment an increasingly significant part of the Earth’s environment. The scope of the biophysical environment is all that contained in the biosphere, which is that part of the Earth in which all life occurs. A biophysical 38 Guidelines for State Level Science Exhibitions for Children 2011-12 environment is the complex of biotic, climatic, and edaphic factors that act upon an organism and determine its form and survival, and morphs itself in the process. Ecosystems, of which there are numerous types and are a defined part of the biosphere, collectively make up the whole of the biosphere. Within an ecosystem there are habitats in which an organism (including human beings) exists. At its most natural state, an environment would lack any effects of human activity, although the scale of this activity is such that all areas of the Earth have had at least some influence by humans. At the other end of the scale is the man-made environment and in some cases it has the biotic component that is virtually absent. Emphasis is now for protection of endangered species and protection of any ecologically valuable natural areas. The understanding of Earth has remarkably increased in recent times through Environmental Science which is a basis for addressing environmental issues. It is now a multi-disciplinary academic study taught and studied at all stages of education including the school education. environmental Science is the study of the interactions within the biophysical environment. Part of this scientific discipline is the investigation of the effect of human activity on the environment. Ecology, a sub-discipline of biology and a part of environmental sciences, is often mistaken as a study of human induced effects on the environment. Environmental Studies is a broader academic discipline that is the systematic study of interaction of humans with their environment. It is a broad field of study that includes the natural environment, man-made environments and social environments. Environmentalism is a broad social and philosophical movement that, in a large part, seeks to minimize or eliminate the effect of human activity on the biophysical environment. Environmental issues and concerns are addressed at a regional, nation or international level by several government and nongovernment organizations. Ministry of 2 Environment and Forest, Government of India, has established National Green Corps to set up and run eco-clubs in school education. Through the eco-clubs different environment related activities such as greening of school campus, collection of wastes, waste management, water conservation practices etc., and other activities related to spread awareness about the environment such as organizing rallies, painting competition etc. are undertaken. With such initiatives of National Green Corps and school systems, Indian children have finalized Indian Children’s Charter of Responsibilities. This Charter “Let’s Take Care of India” says: We, the children of India, resolve to work together to take care of our environment Air, Water, Fire (Energy) and Earth by assuming the Indian Children’s Charter of Responsibilities. The main objective of this sub-theme is to make general public and children in particular aware with the current environmental issues and concerns for achieving sustainability to prevent the effect of environmental issues. The models and exhibits in this sub-theme may pertain to: Evironmental issues related with human activities such as agriculture, energy, fishing, foorests, mining, shipping, paper, war, occean deoxygenation, dead zone, paint etc.; Environmental issues with conservation — species extinction, pollinator decline, coral bleaching, Holocene extinction, invasive species, poaching, endangered species etc. ean deoxygenation, dead zone, paint etc.; Environmental issues with energy conservation, renewable energy, efficient energy use, renewable energy commercialization etc; Environmental controversies such as dam controversies, genetically modified organisms/ food controversy, sealing, dioxin controversy, water fluoridation controversy etc.; Environmental disasters such as Bhopal disaster, oil spills, nuclear accidents etc. Endocrine disruptors; Climate change — global warming, greenhouse gases, fossil fuels, sea level rise, ocean acidification etc.; Issues related with environmental health such as air quality, asthma, electromagGuidelines for State Level Science Exhibitions for Children 2011-12 39 netic radiations and fields, lead poisoning, indoor air quality, sick building syndrome etc; Ozone depletion – CFC; Environmental effects of intensive farming such as overgrazing, irrigation, plasticulture, pesticides etc.; Water pollution — acid rain, marine pollution, Ocean dumping, eutrophication, marine debris, thermal pollution, algal boom, micro-plastics, etc; Air pollution — smog, ozone, particulate matter, sulphur oxide etc; Light, noise, visual, point source and extended source pollution; Urban sprawl, habitat fragmentation, habitat destruction; Soil erosion, soil contamination and salination, and Waste; Aviation and environment; Environmental impacts of irrigation, dams and reservoirs; GAIA hypothesis and environment protection; Environmental implications of nanotechnology (nano-toxiology and nano-pollution).